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Middle Eastern Tomato Salad or Salad Shirazi

This traditional tomato salad that's found all over the middle east is something I look forward to every summer. And this delicious fresh salad is low-carb, gluten-free, vegan, South Beach Diet Phase One, Paleo, and Whole 30 approved!

This Middle Eastern Tomato Salad or Salad Shirazi is one of my very favorite ways to eat tomatoes when they're fresh and sun-ripened, and if I ever was forced to choose my top ten favorite ways to eat tomatoes, this salad would absolutely be on that list. It's actually very good made with Roma tomatoes since they have less seeds and the flesh is firm, but you can make it with any type of tomatoes that have good flavor.

I learned to make the salad years ago from my friend Massoud, who came to the United States from Iran, and this combination of salad ingredients is so traditional that it's just called "salad" there. In the U.S. you might see it on a restaurant menu called Salad Shirazi. You can vary the proportions based on your own taste or what you have in the garden, but don't skimp on the mint and parsley, which is what makes this so special.

(Middle Eastern Tomato Salad was updated with new photos and step-by-step instructions, July 2013. My friend Massoud is coming to visit me again in a few weeks, so I thought that was a good reason to update this recipe with better photos!)

Dice up one generous cup of garden fresh cucumber. (You can salt the cucumber and let it drain in a colander, but these days I often skip that step.)

Dice an equal amount of garden-fresh tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are extra juicy, you can drain them in a colander for a few minutes.)

If I have sweet onion, I'd use equal amounts to the cucumbers and tomatoes. This time I only had regular yellow onion, so I used a bit less. You can soak the onion in cold water for a few minutes if you're not a fan of raw onion, but please don't leave it out.

You'll also need a cup of finely chopped fresh parsley. (I like curly parsley in this, but either one will work.)

Chop cucumber in pieces less than 1/2 inch and put in colander. Add a generous amount of salt and let sit while you chop other ingredients. (These days I often skip the step of salting and draining the cucumber, unless it seems watery. If the tomatoes are juicy I sometimes put them in a colander and let the juice run out.)

Cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions should be cut in same-size pieces, and parsley and mint should be chopped very finely. (You can use a food processor to chop the mint and parsley if you wish.) When all ingredients are chopped, combine in mixing bowl.

Mix in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. (Start with a bit less and add more until it tastes right to you. I find it does not need a great deal of dressing to taste good.) Serve immediately.

This is a perfect side salad for any phase of the South Beach Diet, but in the summer I'd be very happy just having a big bowl of this for lunch. The salad would also be approved for other low-carb eating plans, including Paleo and Whole 30.

I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you're a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

More Summer Tomato Salads to Savor:(Recipes from other blogs not always South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)

(Want even more recipes? I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.)

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17 comments:

I notice you often respond to every person who leaves a comment -- that is so sweet and exceptional of you!

I have a question to pose to you and others who comment:

I have more than 200 cookbooks - going back 30 years or so, including a fair amount purchased in the 90's and in the past 7 years. I only cook for myself and, unfortunately, that's not enough incentive to really spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I'm trying to figure out what to do with them. I spent lots of money on them over the years and I'd like to try to at least get a token amount back on them.

Does anyone have a recommendation as to how to sell them? Garage sale, E-bay, Craig's list (someone suggested just offering several lots of books for a stated price or "best offer").

I have a large supply of vegetarian cookbooks and "healthy cookbooks, plus some gourmet.

I always loved the idea of food and cooking, but just don't seem to activate on it much anymore. Even so, I haven't deserted the food blogs -- they're great fun and very nutritious!

Sandy, you're nice to notice, but I don't always respond to each person, just not enough time. I try to do it when I can. I don't know how to sell cookbooks. I sold a bunch once at a yard sale, but I made hardly anything from them. You might write to Cate at Sweetnicks. I know she sometimes sells them on Amazon.com. I'll be interested to see if other people have good ideas.

Pam, this salad is just the best thing to make with garden tomatoes! Hope you like it.

Few things can compare to the simple pleasures of eating food you have watched grow in you backyard! When I was a kid my mother had a lovely garden and my brother & I loved to help her harvest food from it. She made some wonderful things with that produce, and looks like you did too. Can't wait to see what else you come up with!

Lovely salad, Kalyn! I, sadly, have no tomatoes this year... I have been able to buy some nice ones, but it's just not the same. I'm going to have some cukes in a few days though....so exciting! And I have lots of parsley and mint... so I can get clost with your salad...

Sandy-la (cute name!), Amazon is a great place to sell used books. You get to set your own price and wait for someone to buy them, and if it doesn't happen then you drop your price. I've never tried selling books on Ebay, I'm betting Amazon is better. Maybe you could try them both and let us know!

Your recipe really brought back memories of when we lived in Teheran when I was 10-12. Iranians love salads! The salad I remember the most from our 2 years there was a cucumber, sour cream, mint salad our maid always made for us. Seh always soaked her cukes in water with ice cubes for an hour before tossing it altogether. Your salad sounds absolutely delicious, and I'll definitely try it. Thanks for the trip back to my childhood.

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

I've recently changed my comment settings so people can comment without signing in, but you will need to check the box to show you're a live person, and comments on older posts won't show up until I publish them. Thanks for understanding!

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